


Of sentient beings

by ornithia



Series: Had to be You [12]
Category: Transformers: Shattered Glass
Genre: M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-16
Updated: 2016-10-16
Packaged: 2018-08-21 17:23:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8254099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ornithia/pseuds/ornithia
Summary: Profound enlightenment tends to reveal itself through unconventional means.





	

**Author's Note:**

> the tags will change as the fic progresses to avoid spoilers/character reveals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gygax is haunted. Not by the dead, but by the ghosts of the living.

To the absolute _pit_ with visitors.

\---

When he first heard he'd been sentenced to Gygax, Wheeljack was sure his banishment would only be a temporary arrangement. Not because he harbored any delusions of mercy from a mech like Optronix, no - rather, it was the record mortality rate the harsh and hostile environment he soon found himself in just happened to boast.

Any other mech would've probably gotten himself gored or swallowed whole by some rampant beast joors into their arrival. But Wheeljack was no stranger to cruel and humiliating circumstance (and in fact, had somehow spun an entire career from his infamous notoriety).

He _thrived_.

Scouting, scavenging parts, and exploring vacant ruins for whatever scarce resources he could glean. With them he built a shelter to shield him from the elements, and with what remained he generated fuel, which he promptly gorged upon after an extended fast. It sustained him, though it failed to quench his thirst for vengeance.

As a result, it wasn't long before he was crafting monsters, having drawn inspiration from the local fauna. Living weapons, which would be the basis for an army-

  
  
He didn't realise the shadows had been watching him until he caught a glimpse of red in the darkness, gleaming in his direction one fateful day.  
  
Paranoia struck hard and fast. Wheeljack bolted, and like a petro-rabbit flushed from cover he sped away. He only stopped when the confines of his makeshift lab closed around him, plucking him from the outside world. Even then, his processor continued to race-

 

_He wasn't /ready/ to be found out, not just yet._

 

He grasped at straws in a variety of shapes, tools and parts as he circled his personal sanctuary. Could he be overreacting? A small part of his consciousness _wanted_ to believe so - a trick of the eyes, perhaps an exaggeration of something much more mundane? Judgement chose to err on the side of caution, however, due to his recent trend in downward spirals. His frenzy was perpetuated-

From a nearby bench top, a hatchling alloygator which had imprinted on Wheeljack in the weeks prior watched the entire scene with its comically bright and curious optics. The mech took notice, and finally finding cause for pause, pondered; what would a _Gygax_ native do in his situation?

 

... he'd wait for the ambush, obviously.  
  
  
Days passed, and the normality that followed Wheeljack's paranoid fugue stretched for what felt like eons. The hellscape he'd converted into an isolated paradise morphed into an ambience of purgatory, each klik marked by an agonising uncertainty that only grew by the nano-sec. Wheeljack still didn't possess any proper weapons as of yet, and the prototype blaster he was currently building from scratch was far from functional. Working frantically towards an invisible deadline, he only hoped his efforts wouldn't be made in vain. Just in case, he invested in a boobytrapped perimeter to dissuade potential intruders, as the blaster's completion wouldn't necessarily guarantee victory. And _that_ was assuming Wheeljack's resources even lasted-

 

[CRASH!]

 

Naturally, reality opted to throw him a literal curve ball instead. Whether due to fearless tenacity, a miscalculation, or just plain stupidity, Wheeljack's stalker made his debut amidst a cacophonous congress of clattering and whips-

 

_... crash ..._

 

... or rather, the muted echoes that eventually reached the scientist and registered as ' _intrusive_ '. Admittedly, this was following a confused delay on the mech's behalf, due to some unforeseen distractions provided by his current side project. Thankfully, it only lasted for about a klik, and when realisation dawned Wheeljack's response was composed and appropriate. Not one to be caught off guard _twice_ in a row, he hauled himself out of his workspace and into the open, a decoy blaster secure in hand. He searched for tell-tale signs of something _other_ as he scanned the horizon _-_ on reflex, his finger crooked over the facsimile trigger.

Dusk claimed the wasteland, diluting hues already faded by the seasonal shift. With his azure finish, Wheeljack stood out as the lone colorful outlier, a painted speck on the battered landscape. His antithesis lay some distance away; a tangled heap on the ground that just _barely_ constituted a silhouette against the shaded backdrop. The camouflaged form had been wafting faint wisps, but intermittent breezes had all but consumed most of their drifting trails. Wheeljack only happened to spot the last of these through sheer luck - as quickly as it was spotted, it became devoured by a chilling gale. With no other clues to go on, he had no choice but to head in the marker's general direction.

 

\---

 

Upon closer investigation, this approach made certain vital details _particularly_ evident - Wheeljack's anxieties spiked when he realised his uninvited guest was an _Autobot_. And not just any _one_ at that, but a _flier_ , if the strong ozone stench was anything to go by. Dark lips curled in pensive thought behind the facemask; there weren't many Autobot fliers to begin with, but among those most _prolific_ ...

Sudden distaste manifested itself, a shudder that rolled visibly from Wheeljack's vents and shrouded his optics in mist. Of all the winged builds within the faction's ranks, only _one_ was a shuttle. Tall, dark - and, if memory served correctly, a loyal member of Optronix's inner circle. Regardless of whether this made him a lapdog in the hierarchy or an exterminator - the massive cannons strapped to his frame hinted the latter- it was the proximity with Prime _alone_ that set off alarms.

 

Aloud, Wheeljack laughed. Inside, he _screamed -_ this confliction resulted in a strained sound.

  
  
"I-Is Prime so preoccupied these days - that he can't personally oversee my execution? That he needs to send an _incompetent_. _transport_. _**drone**._ _in his place?"_  
  
He might not have been able lay a finger on the flier without pending ramification, but that didn't mean he had to be _polite_ , either. Wheeljack circled the mech for a final inspection before coming to a stop before him. How _dare_ Prime patronise him like this - his apparent genius, taken for granted. Used, tossed aside, left to waste away in _exile_ -

 

" _Wake up!_ I know you can hear me!"  
  
As if on cue, a pair of wings - long and razor-sharp - unfolded themselves from the fallen mechs's back and scorched the earth in a semi-circular wake. Sparks flew on either side of the prostrate form, a maneuver that must've taken orns of practice just to master the _precision_ required-

... but it wasn't an intimidation display, and it was this that caught Wheeljack's intrigue and simultaneously threw him off guard. He took in the shuttle's frame with a reluctant fascination - it was still caught in the snares of a trap made from the tendrils of a local carnivorous plant. The thick coils were currently latched about the flier's limbs, and would have restricted his movements to a crawling writhe if he chose to struggle. Except he didn't - not a single attempt at escape was made, not a motion wasted. This perplexed Wheeljack further - just _what was this mech supposed to be playing at?_...

 

Engrossed in his thoughts, he didn't notice the cocky gaze staring back until it blinked at him, through the murk of floating dust particles.

 

"... _flattered_. But **_no_**."

 

Red, like embers stoked into flame. It was a wicked gleam, and made all the more obscene for it. But ... ' _no_ '? And to _what,_ exactly? Wheeljack didn't know what to make of the comment; surely, there had to be _some_ trickery involved-

 

"-but it's _funny._ Coming here. Just to see how _unremarkable_ you are. Prime doesn't even _know_ ..."

He faltered at Prime's mention, but recovered quickly; was he being _mocked?_ Stiffening, Wheeljack grew agitated. Too riled up to care about hypocritical statements, he shot back a retort that was about as ineloquent as it was feeble, though the snarling tone attempted to prove otherwise:

 

"Yeah, well - stop **looking** at me! _Transport drone!_ "

  
  
The clever intimidation bluff he'd set up numerous times in hypothetical confrontations all but fell apart right then and there. Impulsivity had ruined ... the _mood,_ so to speak. And even if he'd tried to rekindle some sort of dominant edge over his captive, there was no way it would work on _this_ particular idiot. Fliers were supposed to be absolutely _neurotic_ when it came to personal mobility-

Yet here he was, face to face with a glitched specimen that apparently not only failed to realise he was _bound and helpless,_ but didn't even seem to _care_. Subspacing his prop weapon, Wheeljack decided-

 

_"-you're **crazy**."_

 

... was it _really_ rage, which suddenly made him kick dirt into that strikingly pallid visage? He _felt_ the other's words, tainted by an unusual heat, and reeled mentally in response, stumbling backwards in the physical plane with a dizzying snap. Whether sent by Prime or not, the flier had insulted him. _Had_ been, and had made him question his sanity for the past few _decacycles._ Now, to have the _audacity-!_

 

_"Don't **ever**. Call me. **That."**_

To _think_ , that he had wasted his time. On /this/, when instead - he could have ...

... at least he'd _shut up_. Turning away, Wheeljack began the slow trek back to his lab.

 

  _Let the shuttle stay stranded. Let the wilderness lay its claim on him-_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. i always imagined sg gygax to be one of those abandoned cities that gets aggressively reclaimed by nature or w/e after some horrible disaster - think chernobyl, maybe
> 
> 2\. mostly inspired by the prompts "The first moment" and "Awake, Iron!" from week 1 one of the TF Flash Challenge - the remaining two are hinted at and will get a stronger emphasis in later chapters, haha
> 
> 3\. things will ESCALATE RATHER QUICKLY IN CHAPTER 2 HAHAHAHA. i intend to make each chapter focus on a different set of chars so while some will be reocurring they wont necessarily be hogging the spotlight constantly. hopefully makes things more interesting but idk i don't usually write shit so
> 
> 4\. and finally, one misc. source of inspiration/ref: the scene in httyd where hiccup grounds toothless and then has to choose between killing/releasing him, haha

**Author's Note:**

> merely "inspired" by the [TF Flash Challenge](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/TF_Flash_Challenge/), because i write neither concisely nor compactly o-);;


End file.
